Living in Colombo

Colombo

Photo by Vlada
72
Score
Colombo is a city where modern skyscrapers sit next to old colonial buildings. You can explore the bustling markets, enjoy local street food, and wander around the beautiful parks. The city also has loads of shops and malls where you can find almost anything. With the ocean right there, you can always take a quick trip to the beach. Colombo is an easy-going mix of old and new, making it a great spot to dive into.

The Good

  • 🎉 Good nightlife
  • 😋 Decent food options
  • 🍜 Streetfood
  • ☕ Coffee
  • 👴 Strong ex-pat community
  • ☀️ Warm weather

The Bad

  • 🏘️ Limited accomodation options
  • 🚘 Traffic
  • 🗑️ Pollution
  • 🤼 Crowded

Living costs

Estimated Monthly Living Cost
Colombo
Cheapest () Costliest ()
Sri Lanka
25%
more expensive than Sri Lanka median
30th
Cheapest out of 291 RoamRank places
  • Colombo is the most expensive place (out of 2) to live in Sri Lanka
  • The average salary in Colombo is
  • It's about 445% cheaper to live in Colombo than it is Paris
  • You can expect to spend around $500.42 per month living here

Work
Internet
60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data
PAYG Sim Card
30 Day / Unlimited Data
 --
Airalo eSim
Global eSims for Instant Connectivity
 Buy
Coffee
Regular (8-10oz)
Co-Working Space
Per Month
 --

Living
Apartment (1 bed)
Median Rent Per Month
Apartment (2 beds)
Median Rent Per Month
 --
Airbnb (2 beds)
Median Rent Per Month
 --
Utilities
Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage Collection Per Month
Water
0.33 liter bottle

Leisure
Meal
Cheap Restaurant
Meal for 2
Mid Range Restaurant
Local Beer
330ml Bottle
Cocktail
Standard Measure
 --
Bottle of Wine
Mid range
Gym Membership
Per Month
Cigarettes
20 pack
Cinema
Admission Per Person
  • Prices are estimates and should be used as a guide only. We accept no responsibility for inaccuracies in data.
  • Prices adjusted to reflect exchange rates as of 3rd Jun 2026

Safety

safe

Colombo is generally safe for digital nomads, with low violent crime rates; however, petty crime like pickpocketing can occur in crowded areas.

Internet speed

Poor

Download
0Mbps
Upload
0Mbps
Latency
0ms
Select a tile
Click a tile to see median wifi speed data for that area. Speeds are shown in Mbps.
Download speed
Powered by Wifi Speeds

Time difference

Colombo

Places near Colombo

More places in Asia